Disability in Egypt

Cairo sidewalks to be enhanced to enable access to persons with disabilities (2021, Egypt Today)

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Cooperation between Al-Azhar and UN Special Rapporteur to empower persons with disabilities. (Jan, Youm7)

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Sign Languages

Numerals in Egyptian Sign Language from a Typological Perspective. (2022, North African Linguistics)

Fingerspelling Systems in Egyptian Sign Language (2022, North African Linguistics)

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‘Empty Rooms’ Art Exhibit is a Reflection on Disability & Unorthodoxy “Egyptian artist WeirDo deals with the isolation, reclusion and loneliness experienced by people with disabilities.” (2024, Cairo Scene)

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Financial Inclusion

Banks in Egypt improve accessibility: “According to Central Bank of Egypt, banks have made significant progress in improving the infrastructure, providing technological and digital solutions, hiring qualified professionals, and modifying internal policies and procedures to facilitate the access of people with disabilities to financial products and services.” (2023, Dailynewsegypt)

The Central Bank of Egypt introduces plastic money in Braille (in Arabic, 2022, Banky)

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Social Protection

Ministry of Solidarity initiatives for persons with disabilities in 2024: includes 1.5 million identity cards, and Karama benefits to more than 1.26 million persons with disabilities. (In Arabic, Jan, Youm7)

Cars for disabled people: Government pauses duty-free system for disabled people to import cars, based on perception of its exploitation. (In Arabic, 2024, Aljazeera)

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First e-library for blind people launched in Alexandria (2022, Disability Insider)

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Opening of addiction treatment center that provides services for people with disabilities. (In Arabic, 2023, Cairo24)

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Ancient Egypt & Disability a zine. (2024, Disability Action Research Kollective)

Disability in Ancient Egypt and Egyptology a partially open-access book, looking at the history of disabled people in ancient Egypt and Egyptology. (2024, Routledge)

Disability in Ptolemaic Egypt and the Hellenistic World a book that uses “Critical Disability Studies and the lens of embodiment to comprehensively unveil, explore, and celebrate disability in Ptolemaic Egypt and the Hellenistic world”. (2024, Routledge)

Tomorrow is Yesterday: Disability in Ancient Egypt:

“Contrary to popular tropes, my research on Egypt has shown that whilst it was not a utopia, disabled people existed, thrived, and were incorporated into society.” (2024, History Workshop)

Eight histories of disabled people in ancient Egypt (2024, The British Museum)

Recognising inequality: ableism in Egyptological approaches to disability and bodily differences (2023, World Archaeology)

How ancient history resists our stereotypes Debrief discussion of Tutankhamun and disability in ancient Egypt. (2023, Disability Debrief)

Sheikh Rafaat: A Genius in Meaning-Based Recitation of Quran. One of the blind men among the brilliant qaris of Egypt (people who recite the Quran). (2022, International Quran News Agency)

Sheikh Imam: Voice of Dissent Profile on a blind oud player his music and politics from the 60s-80s and how they resonate through history and the Middle East today. (2022, KC Network)

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Elkhansa: A Sudanese Refugee’s Fight for Disability Awareness “Although safe, she only felt the weight of her disability in Egypt.” (2024, UNHCR)

42,300 Sudanese refugees in Egypt: “Local teams note that between 20 and 25% of the refugees are persons with disabilities.” (2023, Relief Web)

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The reaction of Egyptians to meeting blind people on the street. Mostafa Attia shows, in a video, how Egyptians are the most helpful of any country he's travelled to. (in Arabic, 2022, Mostafa Attia)

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Egyptians with disabilities enjoy swimming at dedicated Mediterranean beach (2022, Global Times)

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Words on paper, or a changing reality? What persons with disabilities want in Egypt. (In Arabic, 2024, Alhurra)

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We did not observe any obstacles to stop disabled people voting. According to the National Council for Persons with Disabilities. (In Arabic, 2023, Youm 7)

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Marriage for people with disabilities is an often forbidden right in Egypt. “Who would agree to marry me?” (Mar, Middle East Monitor)

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